Driving, GMAT, Driving

Sorry for not updating yesterday. I think this will be long enough to suffice for both days!

I went to class all day and then drove up to Birmingham to spend the night at my Uncle's house. I got there and we talked for a while (we always do this--even on the phone--minimum hour and a half conversation) until we realized it was almost 8 and we hadn't had dinner. We ran into Springville (the actual teeny tiny town he lives in) and picked some fast food up to bring back to the house. After we ate, I planned on writing something, but the internet wasn't working properly. Anyway, I studied for the GMAT for a little while and then tried to go to sleep. I'm certainly going to have to make some adjustments to the upstairs before I move there in February to make my room feel less like a guest room. There's plenty of time for that though...

My alarm went off way too early (5:15) so I could get ready to drive to Hoover for my test. I left right at 6 and arrived by 6:45 for my 8 o'clock test. I really didn't know how long it would take, especially with rush-hour traffic, but I managed to avoid the worst of it. The testing center was very close to the Galleria, so I drove down to McDonald's and got some breakfast--I know, I know, not a very good meal, but it was the best I could do. I had planned on bringing a Slim Fast granola bar with me, but I've got a bit of a sore throat and anything crunchy = not good. So, I go back to the testing center which is in a really big office complex and decide to go in since I'm going to Suite 20, but I see a sign for Suite 400. I had no idea how long it would take me to find the actual office, but it was actually right off of the foyer I entered the building through.

They were ready for me to go on and take the test even though it was about 7:30 and my appointment was at 8, so I went on and got started. First you have to write two essays in thirty minutes each. After you finish that, you go on to the quantitative (math) section and then the verbal (English) section. There are optional breaks between the writing and math and the math and English sections, but I chose to skip them since I felt like I was on a roll!

Once I finished, I had to again present my right index finger to prove that I hadn't changed my identity since I entered the fishbowl room where I was subject to audio and video surveillance at all times. Did I forget to tell you that they digitally recorded my fingerprint four times and took my picture to make sure I was really who I said I was. Once that was over, I received my unofficial score report and collected my belongings from the locker I was assigned.

I scored well enough to get admitted to the MAc program, but I guess I'm a little personally disappointed because I didn't get in the 700s (the highest score is 800). I did score better than I had in practice tests though, so I guess I should be happy. This is random, but I did pretty poorly in the quantitative section and extremely well in the verbal section...to the extent that the verbal section is what saved me. The GMAT quantitative section has questions called Data Sufficiency where you are given a problem and two pieces of information and you have to decide if one, the other, both, both together, or neither are sufficient to solve the problem. That can get quite confusing, so I'm guessing I didn't do too well in that section. Also, I seemed to have a lot of Geometry on my test and I didn't like Geometry in high school, so why should I like it now. I'm not sure if I have ever been as happy as the day we finished proofs Freshman year at Bradshaw.

Anyway, I'm just going to be happy that I did well enough to not have to take it again. I'm going to talk with the program coordinator on Monday and verify this and a few other things, but I guess my focus now is on my application (due February1) and getting ready to move to Birmingham. I got a little excited when I was going down the mountain from my Uncle's and then getting on the interstate because today was my first morning commute...something that I will be doing daily starting in February. It's exciting to be "growing up" and doing "big people" things like going to work.

I'm so excited for my internship. Every day, I enjoy classes more and more (such a difference from my first 2.5 years of college) and learn practical aspects of my new career. I actually don't even dread doing tax returns any more (don't tell my Dad)! It's fun to take people's financial transactions for the year and try to find all possible credits and deductions. When we do returns in class using software, it's like a game plugging in information and answering prompts from the computer. I know this sounds really sick to most of you, but I am finding out daily just how much my personality fits into that of the traditional accountant. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that I would love accounting!

I'm going to go to bed now. It's been a long time since I woke up today before the sun came up! My parents (I hope both of them) and my Grandparents are coming down tomorrow night for a short visit and I need to do some more cleaning before they get here. I've been needing to do a good cleaning for a while, but with all my tests lately, I just haven't had time to do any more than pick up. I also have to run to Sam's since I'm out of laundry detergent and need a few other things too.

I have a test on Tuesday too, so I better start studying. I also have Audit homework for Monday that I'm going to print out now so I don't forget until Sunday night, or even worse, Monday morning!

Emma and Katie signing out! Have a good night and a pleasant tomorrow! (haha, Mom)